The Gas Barometer – monitoring the increasing volume of biogas in the network

The Gas Barometer is designed to measure the volume of biogas that is being transported and used in the gas distribution network.

This pioneering initiative will allow Swedegas, in partnership with the companies that trade in gas in the network in western Sweden, to produce quarterly figures showing how much biogas is being transported and used in the network.

One of the main aims behind this new development is Swedegas’s ambition to create transparency and by doing so highlight the inroads biogas is making in Sweden. The company is also seeking to focus on the gradual transition that is taking place in the gas network. The ambition is to increase the proportion of renewable gas in the infrastructure over time, reaching 30 per cent by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2050.

Steady increase in recent years

To produce figures for the Gas Barometer, we compile information covering:

Biogas entering the high-pressure distribution grid (TSO)

Biogas entering the low-pressure distribution grid (DSO)

Import of biogas

Export of biogas

These are reported as aggregate figures, both for the grid and for the network in western Sweden. Commencing in 2018, the figures will be presented quarterly on the Swedegas website.

The proportion of biogas in the grid has grown considerably in recent years as a result of the increase in imports, primarily from Denmark. The proportion of biogas in 2016 was almost 4 per cent, and in 2017 it had risen to just over 10 per cent. Between 2017 and 2018, it doubled and currently stands at just over 20 per cent.

If domestic biogas entered into the low-pressure distribution network is included, the biogas figure for the whole of the Swedish gas network was 15 per cent in 2017, and 23.5 per cent in 2018.

GAS BAROMETER – biogas in the gas network 2016–2018

2016

2017

2018

GWh

%

GWh

%

GWh

%

Swedegas grid

377

3.6

910

10.4

1 858

20.2

Western Sweden gas grid, total

835.3

8

1 348.8

15.4

2 266

23.5

A natural part of a future fossil-free society

During 2017 and 2018, a series of new initiatives materialised from policies designed to support the development of biogas. Biogas has emerged as a vital element in key control systems such as bonus-malus and environmental zones for cars. Innovation funding has been allocated for the development of liquefied biogas, and the eco-bonus has been raised. The government has also set up a Biogas Commission, headed by Åsa Westlund, chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Environment and Agriculture. During the year, industry has contributed with a proposal for a national biogas strategy.

The Gas Barometer monitors growth in the use of biogas in the network. It provides an illustration of the impact that control strategies and trading patterns in Sweden and in other countries are having on the market. The proportion of biogas will inevitably fluctuate depending on shifts in European trade patterns and the development of domestic biogas production.